Most major economies weakening, eurozone stable: OECD

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

Employees work next to scrap cars and motorcycles at an automobile recycling factory in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, July 30, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily

PARIS (Reuters) - Growth seems to be easing off in most of the world’s major economies, including the United States and more notably in China, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Thursday.

The OECD said its monthly leading indicator, a synthetic measure that seeks to capture turning points in the economic climate, showed moderating growth generally. However, the euro zone was stable, with growth actually firming up in euro zone countries France and Italy, and also in India.

Taking an index reading of 100 as the long-term average, China slipped further, to 97.2 from 97.6 in its latest update, the OECD said. The U.S. economy dropped to 99.2 from 99.5, Japan to 99.8 from 99.9 and the UK to 99.5 from 99.7.

Among bright spots, the euro zone as a whole remained stable at 100.7, with Germany, its largest economy, also steady at 100.0. France’s reading rose to 100.8 from 100.7 and Italy’s to 101.0 from 100.9.

Among the big emerging market economies, India’s reading firmed to 99.9 from 99.8. In addition to China, Brazil and Russia also eased.